Motivational Monday: You Gotta Have Hope

If you are new to my blog and would like to know why I started Motivational Mondays, please go HERE.

What exactly is hope?  I guess the best place to start is with the definition of the word. According to Miriam Webster, hope means:

1.  to cherish a desire with anticipation

2.  to desire with expectation of obtainment

3.  to expect with confidence 

So, hope isn't about wishing, because wishes are just about wanting a fantasy to come to pass.  To actually hope for something one must strongly believe that the end result will be a positive one; that if we truly believe, we will achieve our desired outcome.  Hope is isn't a passive activity, it is hard work.

Why do we need hope?  Well, believe or not hope is the one thing that can help us reach the other side of whatever trouble we are facing.  Unfortunately, for many people, life isn't always glamorous or easy.  Many of us encounter difficulties throughout our lives.  I doubt that there are very many people who have skated through live unscathed.  When we encounter those difficulties we need to find something to latch onto and for most of us, that is hope.  I came across this quote while doing some research, "As humans, we need hope. We can't live without it. It is the lifeblood to our spiritual survival, and the only thing that pulls us out of the deep trenches of the pain and hurt of life." (Goins, 2009, para. 4).  Without hope in our lives we would spiral down into a state of despair.  I've been there and it is no place to be whether for a short stay or a long term visit.  Thankfully, I managed to pull back out, reach out and grab onto a sliver of hope. Know that when you need to draw on it, hope can be there for you too.

Not only is hope good for our soul but it is also good for our mind and body.  Studies have been shown that people who have hope in their lives have a different neurochemistry than those who don't.  Hope has been shown to act like a narcotic by blocking pain.  Other studies indicate that our respiratory and circulation systems, along with our motor functions can also be impacted by the concept of hope.  Think of what that could possibly do for someone experiencing pain on a daily basis or someone facing the effects of a deadly disease.  Now, it is still possible that your body will give in to the condition you are facing BUT think of what hope can do to prolong our existence and keep us from giving in to the deleterious effects of what we are facing.  In other words, isn't it better to face our days in hope rather than in fear?

HOPE--it really does make a difference.

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Right about now I should be heading out to have a wonderful supper with my hubby.  If you missed my earlier posts, today we are celebrating the 26th anniversary of the day we started dating.  So, I am hoping that this post goes out as scheduled.

Over on the Path of Positivity, we are looking for posts or projects that epitomize the concept of Hope which is our theme for this month's challenge.  I have also included this essay as part of the midway post over on PoP so if you are in the habit of checking in over there as well, you'll be able to skip the top half of that post.  I've also offered a free motivational quote on hope for you to download as well.

To help inspire you down the path of hope, I invite you to go and check out, not only, the wonderful creations some members of my Design Team had the opportunity to create over on the Path of Positivity (click HERE for the midway) but also some of the great entries into this month's challenge (click HERE for the challenge).  I also invite you to come over and enter a project yourself, if you haven't already. Additionally, there are still three days left to vote on the entries in Challenge #6.  To vote, click HERE.

Have a wonderful week everyone.  May you always find the well of hope full to draw from when you need it the most.  

Until next time,